She held her breath and waited. From her own experience, Arabella knew that sometimes a person needed a little time to voice a thought, or even accept someone's offer of help.
The others in the room must've sensed the same, because they remained silent, too.
Her father finally spoke again. "I abandoned you and Tristan, Ara. You should be angry with me."
She raised an eyebrow. "I am, but we can deal with that later, once you stop hating yourself. Because I was once just like you. It took a lot of love from Tristan and his mate, as well as finding my own true mate, to finally move past it. The experience taught me that love can heal many wounds, including the ones you have now." She squeezed his hands in hers. "But I also know that it won't make any sort of difference unless you want to live."
Arabella released her dad's hands and took out her mobile. After finding a picture of her three babies sleeping together, she turned it toward them. "Here are three reasons you should fight, Dad. These are my three babies—Freya, Grayson, and Declan." She changed to another picture of two toddlers. "And here are two more. These are Tristan's twins, Jack and Annabel." Lowering the phone, she whispered, "So the most important question is—do you want to fight for the chance to know your grandbabies? Or do you want to give up, and abandon all of us again?"
Her father's gaze moved to Tristan. "Do you agree with Ara?"
Tristan grunted. "Yes. I've been trying to tell you that for months, but you never listened. However, know that if you walk away this time, I won't follow. This is it, George. Either allow us to help you heal, or you'll never see or hear from us again."
Her brother's words were harsher than Arabella's, but it was Tristan's way. If her father wanted to stay in their lives, he'd have to learn to accept both of them as they were in the present.
Looking back at Arabella, her dad murmured, "Can I see their pictures again?"
She unlocked the phone and found one of the few photos with all the children together and handed it to him.
A minute or more passed before he whispered, "Jocelyn would've loved to spoil them all."
Pushing past the sadness at her mum's absence, she pointed to Freya. "My daughter's full name is Freya Anne Jocelyn Stewart. Finn's mother was killed, too, like Mum. So I thought our daughter should have both of her grandmothers' names as part of her own, to remember where she came from."
A tear rolled down her father's face. He quickly wiped it away and met her gaze. "I want to know them, Ara. If you'll let me."
Emotion choked her throat. Rather than tell him how she felt with words, she hugged her father. It took a second for him to hug her back.
In that moment, the years apart didn't matter. Her father's hug and warm presence were a comfort she thought she'd never have again.
There may be a lot of work to do, but she was happy to have her dad back again. The question was whether he'd keep up the fight or not.
When she finally released her dad, she turned toward Finn and asked with her eyes if they could show him their triplets. Finn nodded, moved to pick up her dad's crutches, and held them out. "Aye, well, you'll be staying here for the foreseeable future. You and I will have our own chat later. But for now, I think we should introduce you to our bairns as well as Aunt Lorna." As her dad took his crutches and stood, Finn added, "But just know that if you do anything to upset my family, you'll deal with me."
Her father nodded, but remained silent. Arabella chimed in. "Right, then let's go." She looked at Tristan and Melanie. "You two should come, too. I know you'll have to return to Stonefire soon enough, but hopefully, you can at least spend the night."
Melanie smiled. "Since the DDA granted my parents a few weeks’ leave to stay on Stonefire, they're watching the twins. I'm sure Jack and Annabel will be spoiled enough to forget they even have parents for a few days."
Humans that weren't mated to a dragon-shifter had to possess a special pass from the UK Home Office before they could stay on a clan's land. Melanie had been instrumental in convincing the Home Office to issue more passes, especially for family members.
"Good," Arabella stated. "Then you can spend a day or two with the triplets. As it is, we have a lot going on right now. And I'll admit, we could use all the help we can get."
Melanie didn't miss a beat. "Ask anytime for our help and we'll give it. You know that, Ara."
Arabella owed much of her recovery to her sister-in-law, both with Melanie's influence on Tristan as well as the Department of Dragon Affairs. Without her sister-in-law's book on dragon-shifters, Bram and Finn may never have reached a foster candidate agreement. Meaning Arabella never would've found and mated Finn.
Yes, she was going to work on seeing her family on Stonefire more often, if she could manage it.
As they all filed out of the room, Arabella waved hello to Brenna Rossi, who had been standing guard, and then kept pace with her father's slower one. She had so many questions, but most of them would have to wait. Not just because of Freya, but also because she wanted to ensure Holly survived the delivery of her twins without a hitch. All signs pointed to routine births, but Arabella never dismissed outliers.
Especially since if anything happened to Holly, she had no idea how her true mate, Fraser, would react.
Her dragon spoke up. Don't think like that. Holly will be fine.
Rather than argue, she merely took the time to steal glances at her dad. He had more wrinkles than before, and grayer hair.
But he was still her father. Him meeting her children was hopefully the first step on his long recovery, both with himself and her family
~~~
Finn watched Arabella as she walked alongside her father. He would normally have Fergus reach out to his contacts to find out everything he could about George MacLeod. However, with his cousin in the throes of a mate-claim frenzy, Finn had asked one of the other Protectors, Brodie, to do so.
His dragon spoke up. You trust Brodie, too.
I know, but this is extremely important. I want to trust Ara's father, but for all we know, he could secretly be working for the rogue dragon-shifters.
Not long after Finn had won control of the clan, a group of disgruntled clan members had put his mate in danger. As a result, he'd exiled them and any others who didn't want to follow his leadership. The rogue pack of dragon-shifters now hid in the wilds somewhere in Scotland, planning who knew what. They had already troubled his family before, when they'd kidnapped Holly. Ever since, he'd vowed that he would do whatever it took to disband them and ensure they received justice for their crimes.
His dragon said, But we have a plan in place. Soon, we'll have a spy inside their ranks.
He and Bram had a long-term strategy, which they could finally enact in the coming months. Aye, I know, but it's not soon enough.
Arabella paused at the door to the nursery and glanced at him. Once he nodded, she entered, her father at her side, Finn and the others close on her heels.
Inside, Aunt Lorna had wee Freya in her arms as she rocked the glider chair. Since Freya loved her honorary grandmother nearly as much as her parents, she slept peacefully in Aunt Lorna's arms. Lorna's low voice filled the room. "Just be careful to keep your voices down, aye? I just got her back to sleep."
Arabella gestured toward her father. "Lorna MacKenzie Anderson, may I present my father, George MacLeod."
Lorna took in Arabella's father. To most, her smile would seem friendly and nothing else. But Finn saw the assessing nature of her gaze, which was quickly replaced with a neutral expression. "Hello, George. I must say, it's hard to believe you're standing here."
"Aunt Lorna," Arabella warned.
The older dragonwoman raised her brows. "I only speak the truth. After all, as long as my children are alive, I won't be far away. I couldn't imagine abandoning them."
Arabella opened her mouth, but George beat her to it. "She's right, Ara."
"Aye, I usually am." Lorna scrutinized George. "But you being here now, when you learned that your granddaughter
needed help, speaks volumes. I'll give you one chance, George MacLeod. But hurt anyone I hold dear, and I'll ensure you leave shortly thereafter."
Finn resisted a sigh. Anyone who thought alpha male dragons were overly protective had clearly never met Aunt Lorna; females could be just as bad. "He's been warned already, Auntie. How about we try to avoid issuing threats for at least an hour? This is the first time he's meeting any of his grandchildren, after all."
Lorna cuddled Freya tighter against her body. "This wee lass is staying right here. I don't want to risk her dragon coming out." She motioned toward the crib with the boys. "But the lads have been stirring and probably wish to wake up."
Arabella guided her father to the crib, but Finn moved closer to his aunt. After lightly running a finger down his daughter's soft cheek, he murmured, "Tone down the threats, Aunt Lorna. Ara wants to help him."
"Aye, well, I seem to recall honesty being the way you won the lass. It can't hurt to try it with her father."
He did sigh at that and decided to change the subject. "What happened to Faye and Grant?"
"They went to check on Holly. Apparently, Ross and Fraser are having a wee row."
"I'm surprised you didn't see that coming, considering how well you know the family."
His aunt huffed. "I expected better, considering Holly's in labor. Although given my youngest son's way, he may have orchestrated it all to distract Holly from the pain."
"Aye, that's possible. Although I think you're giving him too much credit."
"Fraser is about to become a father. I believe there are many things he doesn't even know about himself, but will show up soon enough."
"We'll see." Finn took out his mobile and quickly checked his text messages, but there wasn't anything from his family members.
After one more quick look to ensure his daughter was asleep, he moved closer to Arabella and her father. George now sat in one of the chairs, and Arabella settled their more social son, Declan, into his arms.
At the sight of George looking down at wee Declan with awe in his eyes, Finn wanted to believe everything would be all right. More than anyone, Arabella deserved greater happiness in her life.
Hopefully his Protectors would find nothing on George. But he'd just have to wait and see.
Chapter Seven
Fraser MacKenzie took a step toward his father-in-law. "Holly wanted a completely natural birth without any drugs, so as to not interfere with the results of her dragon's blood shots. I'm merely honoring her request."
Ross Anderson narrowed his eyes and waved toward Holly. "She's in pain, Fraser. The window has nearly passed for her to have anything, even the tamer dragon-shifter-safe ones."
"Holly isn't a child. She can make her own decisions."
Fraser moved closer to his father-in-law when Holly's tired, yet firm voice rang out. "Stop it, the both of you. And come here."
His dragon spoke up. She may not be a dragon-shifter, but I often forget she can thread dominance into her voice like a clan leader.
Ignoring his beast, he rushed to Holly's side and took her hand. "Do I need to fetch the doctor, honey? Is it time?"
"You two need to stop fighting." Holly switched her gaze to her father. "I'm an adult and can make my own decisions, Dad. A little pain means nothing if it can help save the lives of thousands of other humans mated to dragon-shifters around the world."
Fraser kissed her brow. "That's my female, always thinking of others before herself." He laid his forehead against hers. "Just promise me that if things turn south, you do what's best for you, regardless of how it affects the experiment."
Before she could answer, she closed her eyes and sucked in a breath.
Another contraction had hit.
He murmured soothing words until it passed. Holly opened her eyes, and he wished he could erase the pain in her golden-brown eyes. Her voice was faint as she said, "Call the doctor. I think we're getting close."
Before Fraser could do anything, Ross rushed to the call button and then raced out of the room to probably find someone just in case. He and the human male might have their differences of opinion, but Fraser would've done the same thing.
He's also quick for his age, his beast added.
"Fraser." He focused back on his mate, and she added, "Be nice to Dad. He's merely worried. I'm his only child, after all."
"I know, honey. But acting normal with your dad helps to calm me down and not think about the worst-case scenario. I don't want to lose you."
Raising a hand, she cupped his cheek. "I'll be fine, Fraser. I know what it's like to grow up most of my life without a mother and I'll be damned if I'll let that happen to my children."
He kissed her. "Good. Because I like having you around, too. It'd be an absolute madhouse at dinner without you there."
She pinched his cheek and he flinched. "Good to see I'm only useful to bring truces to you and your sister."
"Don't say that, honey. I love you." He kissed her slowly. "I don't want to ever imagine my life without you."
"Oh, Fraser."
She sucked in another breath and gripped his hand tighter. By his count, the contractions were coming fairly close together.
He debated going to find a doctor himself when Dr. Layla MacFie rushed in, tugging on her second glove. Before he could ask what had taken so long, Layla spoke. "Right, then let's check and see how dilated you are, Holly. It's not every day I have a midwife in labor, but I imagine it feels a bit differently from the other side of the coin, no?" Layla placed her hand between Holly's thighs and then nodded. "Aye, it should be any time now. Let's get you situated." She glanced at Ross. "And I want you to wait outside. One alpha male is enough for me to handle during a delivery."
Ross rushed to Holly's other side and kissed her cheek. "I won't be far, Holly-berry. Shout for me and I'll come running at full speed."
"I'd like to see you try running that fast. Maybe you could set a time record on Lochguard," Holly said, humor dancing in her eyes.
"Cheeky lass." Ross touched his daughter's face one last time before exiting the room.
Never taking his eyes from Holly, Fraser asked, "What should I do, Layla?"
"Stay out of my way and support your mate. I'll give you one warning before I kick you out, too."
He met the doctor's gaze then. "I'm not going anywhere."
Layla shrugged. "Then behave and we won't have a problem."
A good dragon-shifter doctor needed to be able to put any dragon in his place, alpha or not. Seeing as Holly wasn't the first female to give birth today, Layla had probably perfected her technique earlier with Hamish Boyd.
Holly tensed again, and Layla went into motion. "Since Sid and Gregor had to help with another patient and are now on call, Logan should be coming soon, so let's get you up."
Fraser helped Holly sit up as the doctor placed her legs into the stirrups.
As the minutes ticked by and Holly rode out the contractions, Fraser murmured soothing words about his bonny lass.
But deep down, he worried. A normal human female's chances at birthing a dragon-shifter child was fifty-fifty. Holly's hypothesis was that injections of dragon's blood increased a human female's chances of survival.
Increasing her chances wasn't enough, though. He wanted a guarantee.
His dragon said, She will be fine. Believe in our mate.
I'm trying.
Finally, Layla looked to each of them in turn. "It's time. When the next contraction comes, push for me, Holly."
The recently arrived nurse, Logan, stood to the side waiting. Fraser wanted to shout for him to do something.
His dragon sighed. Logan is one of the best nurses on Lochguard. He wouldn't be standing still if there was anything else that needed to be done right this second.
Holly gripped his hand so hard it felt as if she'd break his bones, and every other thought fled his mind. His mate needed him.
Never taking her gaze from her task, Layla said, "There's the first head. You're do
ing brilliantly, Holly. Keep it up."
Some females might curse and lash out, but his brave, strong lass merely went through the next few contractions like a champ, pushing when asked and stopping when needed.
Eventually, a small cry filled the room and Layla held up a tiny, red-haired bairn. "You have a daughter."
Since dragon-shifters waited until the birth to find out the genders, Fraser murmured, "A daughter." He kissed Holly's forehead. "A daughter, honey."
"A ginger-haired MacKenzie menace, I'm sure," she murmured with love in her voice.
Even when exhausted and in pain, his love found a way to tease.
Layla handed his daughter off to Logan. "I want to get both of them delivered, and then you can hold them. We'll take a short break and then try again, aye?"
As he watched Logan tend to the wee bairn, it finally hit Fraser that he was now a dad.
And all he could think about was everything that could go wrong or harm his daughter.
His dragon huffed. Logan won't hurt her.
Holly's weak voice garnered his attention. "Fraser, help me with the next one, aye? I've been exhausted before, but this is a new level. I need your strength, and then you can glower at anyone who looks at our daughter."
His strong mate rarely asked for help, which meant she needed it.
He kissed the back of her hand. "I'm here for you, honey. Always."
She smiled. "I love you."
Layla's voice interrupted his reply. "The second bairn is behaving and is in position. With any luck, he or she will take after Holly's temperament and not make a scene coming into the world."
Fraser growled, but Holly squeezed his hand. "Not now, Fraser."
He somehow managed to murmur support and kiss his mate until Layla said, "Right, then let's try again."
Holly repeated her silent, brave performance, barely murmuring a peep of pain during the process.
The Dragon Family Page 6
